Chapter Five:
Artemis slapped a hand over his face. Maybe it was the disorientation from slipping from life to the afterlife, but Artemis was getting the feeling that the ghost wasn't very smart. Artemis couldn't match Aspen's name with any of the Satanist's victims but then again, the ghost could be a victim that the police hadn't found yet.
"I can't see you but I can see everything else crystal-clear," said Artemis finally.
"Oh."
"You're probably dead."
"That can't be right. I was alive a few minutes ago."
"Then suddenly you've acquired the ability to turn invisible and get into other people's houses?"
"Right. I'm not dead, okay? I don't know why you can't see me but…ugh! No matter how many times I see this, this looks disgusting. Especially when the sacrifice is human."
"You've seen this sort of thing before?" asked Artemis, suddenly alert.
"Yes. Somewhere. The problem is, I can't remember where. I can't remember anything past five minutes ago except…"
"What?"
"My brother Quill, a green snake that could talk and a whole bunch of diagrams. The last thing I remember about my brother was that he was scared."
"Figures you wouldn't remember anything," muttered Artemis. "You're dead."
"I'm not dead!"
"You're in denial."
"I'm not dead or in denial about being dead!"
"Could you stop waving that knife around? Especially here." Artemis threw a vague arm in the direction of the Councilwoman's body.
"Sorry."
"Especially since you're over emotional and grappling with the fact that…"
"I'm not dead!"